18 September 2008

underneath the radar

Underneath the radar...that's where Canada mostly flies. We have views of Canada, probably not very well formed: they're mostly like us, they don't like being mistaken for Americans but they have a dependence on their large neighbour as their biggest market. They're pretty much small-l liberal in the views, it's a stable place.

The Canucks I've known while overseas were all good company, particularly because they shared the Aussie fondness for beer (although one older couple were indeed quite conservative and refined, stangely enough they tolerated my crudities and occasional excess enthusiasm). One bloke from Newfoundland exhibited all the extreme behaviourial traits that often distinguish people from remote areas.

So this Slate article, via Bookforum, came as a bit of a shock. Some of this news had penetrated the mainstream media here, but only on rare occasions...it's not a narrative. Hmm, well.

But some of the similarities to Australia are disturbing. The global financial shockwaves seem only to be one element of some kind of widespread unravelling of what we thought to be certainties, or at least solid long term trends.

Canada will bear some watching, I think, over the next few years and may provide some insights into our own little corner.